1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming device capable of acquiring data from a web server.
2. Description of the Related Art
Accompanying the rising popularity of the Internet in recent years, the transfer rate in data communications continues to increase. Communication systems known as broadband systems are becoming widely popular for their ability to connect to the Internet in communication environments having a data transfer rate exceeding about 500 kbps.
Some broadband systems well known in the art include cable Internet employing a cable television (CATV) network, FTTH (Fiber to the Home) employing optical fibers provided to individual households, and DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) employing the normal telephone lines provided in most households. A particular type of DSL well known in the art called ADSL (Asymmetric DSL) provides faster transfer rates to the user than from the user.
When connecting a communication device such as a personal computer to the Internet using this type of communication system, it is necessary to connect a signal converting device (hereinafter referred to as a broadband-capable modem) supporting the above types of broadband, such as a cable modem, media converter, or DSL modem (ADSL modem, etc.) to the communication device.
An apparatus known as a broadband router must be connected between the broadband-capable modem and the communication device in order to connect a plurality of communication devices to the Internet using a single global IP address. This broadband router is provided with a routing function for controlling data paths while converting between a private IP address used on a local area network (LAN) and a global IP address used on the Internet, serving as a wide area network (WAN).
In the conventional communication system shown in FIG. 29, for example, communication devices on the user end, such as personal computers 13, 14, and 18, are connected by cable to the Internet via a broadband router 121 and a broadband-capable modem 123 in sequence.
However, in order to connect a communication device to the Internet as described above, it is necessary to reserve space for installing a plurality of devices, including the broadband-capable modem and broadband router, and the installer must have technical knowledge concerning networks. Furthermore, the cables used to connect each device can be an eyesore.
Conventionally, it has been impossible to reference data content stored on an external web server without using the personal computers 13, 14, and 18, for example. Therefore, there have been some cases in which a user cannot reference such data content even when a broadband-capable system has been installed in the user's building because the user does not possess a personal computer or the like.